The Inequality Of America’s Parks And Green Space

Press release from the Branford Land Trust:

August 17, 2020

The Inequality of America’s Parks and Green Space

In thinking about how to best serve our membership, our community, and our region, the Branford Land Trust will be presenting some materials over the next few months that place our mission to preserve open space in historical, cultural, and national context.

We’d like to start with this 2019 article by economist Richard Florida from Bloomberg News that documents the unequal access to green spaces in the United States. The BLT remains dedicated to equal access and to the environmental, social, and cultural benefits created by access to open space.

The Inequality of America’s Parks and Green Space

By Richard Florida, Bloomberg CityLab, March 19, 2019

America has grown increasingly unequal, with deepening fissures across and within cities by income, education, and race. And those divides are reflected in our access to parks and green space.

That’s the big takeaway of a study conducted by a team of researchers at the University of British Columbia and published earlier this year in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning. The study takes a deep dive into how access to parks and green space varies by class, education, race, and other key variables.

This press release was produced by the Branford Land Trust. The views expressed here are the author’s own.